POEM OF THE DAY
Celebrating
6th Annual PoetryFest Nov 7-9 at IAC

Men with Tired Hair 

by 

Rita Ann Higgins
 

On a bank holiday Monday in Galway,

you can see old men

sitting on window sills in Prospect Hill.

 

Time is not a factor here,

only images pleasing and displeasing

to the men with tired hair.

 

Despite this easiness with life,

there is a waiting, a look out

In anticipation of something.

 

The looking up and down continues;

the awaited stimulus always comes.

 

Days it's a young woman.

Streets it's a fire.

Years it's news of a tragedy in far off Dublin. 


 

Rita Ann Higgins, author of nine collections of poetry, is a winner of the Peadar O'Donnell Award and a member of Aosdana. She was born and lives in Galway.

Don't miss Higgins' reading at PoetryFest on Saturday, November 8th at 6 pm. Reserve your free spot here or by calling 866-811-4111.

6th Annual Irish Arts Center
PoetryFest

 

Presented in association with Glucksman Ireland House - NYU 

and Poetry Ireland

 

A three-day festival of contemporary poetry from both sides of the Atlantic

 

Curated by Belinda McKeon and Aengus Woods

 

PoetryFest is generously supported by a grant from the Irish Institute, Inc.
 

November 7 - 9 

Most events FREE | Ticketed events from $10

  

Our sixth annual PoetryFest celebrates Ireland and America's great literary connection by showcasing an unparalleled array of much-published and award-winning poets. The only New York festival of its kind, PoetryFest immerses participants in an intimate and creative atmosphere filled with readings, storytelling, book signings, conversations, and more. 

 

FEATURED POETS INCLUDE: 

 

TARA BERGIN

Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry Prize-winner 

 

PETER FALLON

Translator, editor and founder of the Gallery Press 

 

ADAM FITZGERALD

Author of the debut collection The Late Parade 

  

MIRIAM GAMBLE

Winner of the Eric Gregory Award and a 2011 Somerset Maugham Award

 
VONA GROARKE
Author of six collections of poetry, most recently

X, a Poetry Book Society Recommendation 

 

MATTHEA HARVEY

National Book Critics Circle Award finalist 


RITA ANN HIGGINS

Peadar O'Donnell Award-winner 

 

DAVE LORDAN

Winner of the Patrick Kavanagh Award, Rupert and Eithne Strong Award, and the Ireland Chair of Poetry Bursary Award 

 

ROBERT PINSKY

Pulitzer Prize-nominee 

 

GERALD STERN

Former Poet Laureate of New Jersey 

 

KEVIN YOUNG

Winner of the 2003 Paterson Poetry Prize 

 

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7

 

Favorite Poems                

8 pm  | $35, including after party with poets

The welcome return of this intimate and special evening where IAC's friends and special guests read a selection of well-known and personally-chosen best-loved poems. Special guests include Lisa Dwan (Irish actress, reading Beckett, "an instrument of Beckett, in that way saints and martyrs are said to be instruments of God" says The New York Times' Ben Brantley), Joseph O'Neill (Irish novelist and non-fiction writer), Rosie Schaap ("Drink" columnist for The New York Times Magazine), and Maeve Higgins (Irish comedian from Cobh, County Cork). 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8

 

Miriam Gamble and Adam Fitzgerald

2 pm | FREE

 

Vona Groarke and Kevin Young

4 pm | FREE

 

Rita Ann Higgins and Robert Pinsky

6 pm | FREE

Opening the reading is Tara Bergin, Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry Prize for First Collection 2014

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9

 

Dave Lordan and Matthea Harvey  

1:30 pm | $10 member / $12 non-member

Free for Young Patrons ($125) members and higher

 

Peter Fallon in conversation with Belinda McKeon

3 pm | FREE

 

Peter Fallon and Gerald Stern

5 pm   | $10 member / $12 non-member

Free for Young Patrons ($125) members and higher

 

PRE-POETRYFEST EVENT

WITH OUR PARTNERS AT GLUCKSMAN IRELAND HOUSE - NYU

The Tom Quinlan Lecture in Poetry: Tara Bergin

Thursday, November 6 | 7 pm

FREE | Reserve your tickets at irelandhouse.fas.nyu.edu or 212-998-3950 (option 3)

 

For tickets and more information, visit our website.

 

at Irish Arts Center

553 West 51st Street

New York, NY 10019



What's Next? 

IAC | Literature & Music
 
Muldoon's Picnic with Special Guest Rick Moody, Meghan O'Rourke, and Fay La Foe

Monday, November 10 | 7:30 pm

An omnium-gatherum of words and music hosted by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and New Yorker poetry editor Paul Muldoon with music by the Wayside Shrines. November 10th's evening features special guests Rick Moody, Meghan O'Rourke, and Fay La Foe.

Become a member today! Receive special discounts, exclusive invitations, and help support the future of Irish arts and culture in the United States. 

 

 
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NYSCA
NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs

Irish Arts Center programs are supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; and generous individual donors and foundations.